


The Messenger

by BashfulTenrec



Category: The New Legends of Monkey (TV)
Genre: Blood, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone knows Tripitaka is great except for her, F/M, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, I had issues I needed to work out can you tell, Mythical Beings & Creatures, One Shot, Overprotective Monkey, Post-Season/Series 01, Self Confidence Issues, Tripkey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-11-28 05:43:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20961419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BashfulTenrec/pseuds/BashfulTenrec
Summary: Monkey and Tripitaka take a detour from scroll-seeking and encounter a celestial messenger... but it doesn't appear to have much to say.





	The Messenger

Tripitaka’s heart leaped into her throat as Monkey directed his cloud to spiral towards the ground, pulling up at the last possible second to return to the sky.

“Do you have to do that?” she exclaimed, grabbing onto his arm tighter as she braced her other arm onto the wispy yet solid mass of white beneath her.

He shot her a gleeful look. “No,” he admitted. “But it is fun. The cloud wants to show off to you!” The cloud descended back down, but slower this time, skimming the tops of the trees until the forest ended, giving way to a rocky beach that surrounded a wide, serene lake before them. Monkey nudged her as the cloud flew just over the ripples of the water, and Tripitaka let go of the cloud to touch the surface as they made for the center of the lake, her hand leaving a wake behind them.

When they reached the middle, the cloud stopped to hover just above the surface, and Monkey flopped down onto his stomach to stare into the depths below, the water clear enough to just barely make out the bottom. Tripitaka copied him and together they watched the schools of fish lazily go about their day as the water and her heart rate settled.

“Sandy would like this lake,” Tripitaka commented. “It’s so calm.”

“It’s a bit out of our way…” Monkey replied cautiously. “If we walked here it would take maybe a day or so.”

“Can’t you carry her on the cloud like you did for me?” Tripitaka asked, brow wrinkling. “We could start walking and you could drop her off and we meet you there.”

“It doesn’t allow just anyone to get on it…” Monkey said with a flippant shrug. “I think you’re the first person aside from me that it’s willing to carry.”

Tripitaka watched the cloud’s tendrils of vapor curl over her hands and be gently moved aside with every breath. “Why is that?”

He cleared his throat and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear, glancing at her quickly. “I guess it likes you. I suppose. I don’t know. Celestial gift, fickle rules, does what it wants, you understand.” He shrugged again, staring intently at the water to study the fish, cheeks darkening.

Not particularly. She had never really studied celestial ways and means very much while growing up; it was all a bit too abstract for her tastes. Monkey’s favored method of transportation was probably the closest thing to any of those abstract celestial matters a simple human girl like her would ever come across. Tripitaka propped her chin up on her hands. “Shame really. We haven’t been to a proper lake in a while. This is the nicest one I’ve ever seen.”

“Well… we can take a little side trip!” Monkey suggested, sitting up fast enough to make the cloud just barely dip into the water. “I’m sure the scrolls aren’t going anywhere. And Sandy needs time to play in the water, of course. I’m sure Pigsy wouldn’t mind, either.”

“Probably not,” Tripitaka agreed with a grin. “Thanks.”

Monkey sat up straighter. “Well then. Shall we? Sooner we get back, the sooner we can start our little detour.”

“Of course,” she said with a nod, sitting up again. She glanced at the fish. “See you in a bit, guys.”

Monkey’s grin widened as he glanced up to direct the cloud to move. He went utterly still as he stared, expression going slack. Frowning, Tripitaka followed his gaze to something making its way towards them, clouds forming on the water and following the figure.

“Don’t move,” he murmured to her as he knelt. “Show some respect when it gets close.”

Tripitaka was about to ask when what got close, but then she saw it, complete serenity washing over her at the sight.

A golden deer-like beast, delicately walking on the water as if it were solid earth, its thin, draconic head adorned with a single branching antler surrounded by a mane of orange flames that continued down the center of its back to the end of its plumed lion tail, its light reflecting off its peculiar carp scales coating its entire body.

A qilin.

Tripitaka could scarcely take her eyes off of the celestial messenger, but forced herself into a clumsy kneel as it drew near, tearing her gaze away. Monkey was unnaturally quiet, showing a reverence she didn’t think was possible for him.

With every silent step, Tripitaka could see out of the corner of her eye Monkey’s pulse fluttering rapidly on his neck, his eyes focused on the lake, body taut with anticipation. 

It stopped directly in front of them. Tripitaka felt if she dared to move it would bolt, but no fear or dread of this hypothetical scenario came to her, only peace. She chanced a quick look, her eyes darting up.

The qilin ignored them, instead reaching its snout forward to examine the cloud they were kneeling on, a celestial beast greeting a celestial gift. It straightened, and Tripitaka forced her eyes back down as it stood there for what seemed like an eternity before it turned and walked away. Clouds and smoke obscured it from sight, and in the next moment, the smoke cleared to reveal the lake as if nothing had happened at all.

Tripitaka let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding, and Monkey slumped in relief. She glanced at him. “You saw that too, right?”

He nodded, staring after where the qilin had disappeared. “Qilin haven’t been seen in centuries. Even before I was put into the rock. They only appear to wise sages or…” He puffed up, looking giddy. “Great kings.”

Tripitaka frowned. If they only appeared to those two categories of people then why did it allow itself to be seen by a normal human girl? “Surely not just to them?”

Monkey shrugged. “I guess it was drawn to the cloud. Although…” His face also took on a thoughtful frown. “I thought they were supposed to be messengers. They don’t just appear for no reason.”

Another celestial mystery that was way above her pay grade. Tripitaka hated herself for feeling a sense of disappointment at a miraculous event that even gods could only dream of experiencing.

Still, it was nice to see that even the great Monkey King had the capacity to show deference to something other than himself. Qilins were supposed to be on equal footing with the likes of mighty dragons, and yet Monkey bragged openly about harassing dragons in the skies of his past life, all without a hint of self-awareness of the gravity of his actions.

“Well, that was certainly something I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” Tripitaka commented. She sat back on the cloud to ease the pins and needles in her legs from kneeling and glanced up at him. “I’m glad I got to witness it with you.”

Monkey’s mouth parted and then shut before he nodded, sitting back beside her. “I suppose we should head back, then?”

\---

Sandy and Pigsy both dismissed Monkey’s retelling of their run-in with the qilin, until he had looked desperately at Tripitaka and she backed him up.

“So what does it all mean?” Pigsy asked after they had all agreed to take their detour to the lake.

“Do you think we’ll see it again when we get there?” Sandy chimed in hopefully.

“I don’t know the answer to either of those,” Monkey said dismissively with a wave of his hands. “I hope we will… Maybe it will relay its message this time.”

Tripitaka threw him an aghast look. “Are you seriously calling the qilin incompetent?”

“No!” he protested. “It’s just… why didn’t it say anything?”

“Maybe it was in the wrong company,” Pigsy suggested with a wiggle of his eyebrows at Tripitaka, who giggled.

Monkey snorted. “Anything the qilin wanted to say, it could say in front of Tripitaka. I mean, she’s just an ordinary human, but she was with me. Surely that had to count for something.”

“Monkey…” Sandy and Pigsy groaned in unison as his words left a hole in Tripitaka’s heart.

Monkey halted, nose twitching. “What I meant was…”

“Just stop.” Pigsy’s voice left no room for argument. Sandy, a picture of exasperation, laid a comforting hand on Tripitaka’s shoulder.

Monkey stabbed his staff into the ground and tipped his head to the side, blinking. “I’m going on ahead to have a look around.”

“You’d best,” Sandy said wearily. Monkey stiffly walked ahead, deliberately not making eye contact with anyone, especially Tripitaka, vanishing into the foliage.

Pigsy glanced at Tripitaka apologetically and gave her a pat. “For the record, qilins don’t just appear or speak to gods. Monkey is just…”

“Being Monkey?” Tripitaka supplied, trying to ignore the sting Monkey’s thoughtlessness had left. Pigsy closed his eyes and nodded once.

“At least now we’ve got some peace and quiet,” Sandy said with a sigh.

“Strange creatures, qilins,” Pigsy mused to himself, glancing around as if he expected it to stride into view. “They aim to never harm a single living thing while they perform their duties, but don’t hesitate to annihilate anything that harms an innocent life in their presence. Odd paradox to live by, really.”

“Celestial logic,” Tripitaka said dully. “That stuff never really makes much sense to us mortals.” Pigsy gave her an odd look.

“I’d rather not talk about legendary beings at all anymore,” Sandy decided. “Let’s go.”

Tripitaka mechanically shuffled her feet forward, now wondering if her presence had interfered with the qilin after all. As much as it would be fanciful to imagine a divine beast being sent to speak to someone as ordinary as herself, she couldn’t imagine what it would possibly have to say to her that it wouldn’t want to share with anyone else, even a god such as Monkey. No, the message it was supposed to deliver was for the Monkey King. She wasn’t even a monk on her way to enlightenment, just a human girl that assumed the role, borrowing the robes and never giving them back. And now she’d interfered with a celestial messenger.

She felt guilty for even considering herself worthy in the first place.

\---

After meeting up with Monkey a while later and enduring one of his forced, awkward apologies, Tripitaka tried to be normal with him again, even commenting she was pleased he didn’t have to be prompted by Pigsy to try and make amends.

They’d pointedly avoided the topic of the qilin, however.

“So while I was looking around,” Monkey said quickly, “I noticed some markers up ahead… it’s demon territory, but it’s not a clan that’s a threat to us. They keep to themselves and sell their game to local markets.”

Pigsy breathed a sigh of relief. “Finally. Demons that don’t waste anyone’s time by messing with us.”

Monkey grinned. “They only get tetchy when people try and hunt in their territory without proper payment, but their borders end before we get to the lake. We’ll be fine.”

“We’re not prey to them?” Sandy asked warily, her gaze shifting to Tripitaka. “Or humans?”

Monkey scoffed. “Nah. This isn’t the Forest Kin we’re talking about.” Tripitaka tried not to flinch at the memory of Gwen dying for her sake. “These guys are downright friendly by comparison.” To further display his lack of concern, he shrank his staff and stuck the hairpin in his hair with a cocky smirk.

Monkey’s indifference to the matter provided a degree of comfort, but Tripitaka didn’t like the idea of traipsing through demon turf. The longer she stood still the louder the bitter grief became and she started marching before they got overwhelming. “Let’s just get it over with.”

As they marched, Monkey kept himself close to her, and from the corner of her eye she could see him cautiously shooting her glances. After the umpteenth time, she finally sighed and glanced at him. “What?”

“What do you mean, what?” Monkey inquired swiftly, snapping his gaze to the path ahead. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You keep looking at me,” Tripitaka said, trying to keep her voice level. “What is it?”

“Oh. That. Right.” His hands fidgeted. “You just seem weird is all.”

Tripitaka tried not to wince. As dense as he could be, he did have rare moments of emotional intelligence. Usually they came at the wrong time, such as right now when things were too complicated to explain. She wasn’t even sure if she could properly voice what was swirling around her head right now.

“Just… don’t like being in demon territory,” she lied. It was partially true. Hopefully it would satisfy him. He was silent, looking up.

“Is it because I mentioned the Kin?” he asked after Tripitaka had assumed he’d let the matter drop. She jumped a bit at his words and realized he saw that too. “It is, isn’t it?”

So he was in a discerning mood after all. She would much rather he go utilize this moment of clarity with anyone other than her. She gave a half shrug. “Last time we were in a forest run by demons, it didn’t end very well.” Well, it had ended just fine for her, but not for Gwen, she added silently.

Monkey tilted his head. “Nothing’s going to happen to you here. I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

To him, a god, she was just a human accessory to look after. And not even the right one he was originally supposed to watch over and guide. Gwen had died for nothing. Getting the first scroll was just luck and being helped by all the captive gods. She was just a hindrance, something to protect, something that delayed a celestial messenger. She forced a smile and gave him a quick pat on the arm before walking faster, trying to escape him and her spiraling thoughts. “Thanks.”

He glanced down at the ghost of the imprint her hand had left and frowned, trotting until he matched step with her. “Then why are you still acting weird?” If any celestial being that could possibly care about her predicament was listening, she could really use some help getting him to stop prodding at her. He hopped in front of her and forced her to stop, holding her arms. “Tripitaka, you know you can tell me anything, right? I’ve been around for a while, so there’s really nothing that can shock me anymore.”

She barked out a mirthless laugh, and he blinked, confused. She waved him off and tried to shove around him, but he stood in her way again, waiting.

“Just…” The qilin walking away without saying anything sprang to mind. “When we get to the lake, just fly around on your own. Maybe the qilin will approach you then and say what it needs to say.” Monkey’s brow crinkled further. “I don’t want to be a hindrance.” The words tumbled out before she could stop them. Monkey’s arms dropped, and Tripitaka started walking forward, expecting him to move, but instead he kept pace with her, moving backwards.

“No, no, if it’s got a message to say, it’ll say it when I’m with you!” he argued. “Why would it appear to both of us then, if it didn’t? We can look for it together! Maybe it was being a celestial thing and it didn’t have anything to say at all, maybe… it just wanted to check out the cloud!” A look of realization came over him and he stopped, Tripitaka walking past him.

“I don’t think you’re a hindrance.” His now-serious tone made her stop. “You never have been.” She looked back up at him. “Not a hindrance. Not even a bother,” he said with a vigorous shake of his head. “Not to me, not to Pigsy, or Sandy…” he glanced around. “Or any of the gods or humans that have helped us along the way.”

Tripitaka didn’t reply. He inched closer.

“When bad stuff happens to people helping you, it’s not your fault.” He hesitated, searching her face. Tripitaka was unable to look back and glanced down. “Gwen and those captive gods knew what they were doing. They weren’t stupid; they all saw the same thing that we all see when we look at you.”

If he was waiting for her to ask what that was, she didn’t feel like she could respond. His words made sense, she knew that, she just had a hard time hoping it could be true. He tossed his hair impatiently.

“When I- we, see you, we see someone worth saving, no matter the cost. Whether you were supposed to be here or not… I don’t think that matters. I’m just… Well, frankly, I’m glad you’re here. You make this quest thing so much more interesting,” he finished in a rush.

His usual flailing about when he couldn’t figure out how to end an emotionally-laced conversation made her smile. She wished the emotional part of her mind would catch up with the logical part and believe her friend’s words already, but she felt touched by his ceaseless efforts. “Thanks, Monkey.”

He preened at this, and then playfully ruffled her hair. “So uh, when we get to the lake, would you still want to go see the fish again on the cloud?”

“As long as Sandy doesn’t call them all over to swim with her, sure,” Tripitaka replied with a laugh.

\---

Monkey had been right; there were no signs of any demons in the forest the entire time they were in their territory. It was safe enough that they all decided it was worth it to spend the night there, with the gods all keeping watch. Despite their nonchalance, Tripitaka had breathed a sigh of relief when they cleared the forest before midday and were now standing on the rocky beach they had flown over the day before. After setting up camp, Sandy immediately went to the water and disappeared under the waves without a word, and Tripitaka and Monkey left Pigsy to relax by the fire as they went back to hover over the middle of the lake to watch the fish again. Tripitaka hadn’t expected the qilin to reappear in the same manner it had before, but couldn’t help but feel a sense of disappointment when it didn’t. She could tell Monkey felt the same, although he was doing his best to brush it off.

Upon her request, Monkey dropped Tripitaka off in a secluded inlet of the lake to have a bath and zoomed off, leaving her alone. Whether they saw the qilin again or not, Tripitaka was happy to be back at this place. If there was supposedly a celestial message that needed to be delivered, she was sure it would find its way to them one way or another, she mused as she got dressed and started to walk back. The shoreline narrowed as the grass and foliage from the forest encroached on this part of the lake. Tripitaka would very much rather stay clear of the trees, but unless she was going to walk all the way around the lake, the fastest way back was to duck into the trees for a stretch of land. She moved quickly for several silent minutes, even though she knew there was nothing to fear.

Then she felt it- that familiar sensation of serenity and calm that could only come from one source.

She spun, staring agape as the qilin made its way directly for her, its soft eyes gentle and yet full of a wisdom and depth that could only belong to a creature not fully part of this world. Its cloven hooves didn’t even make contact with the ground; wisps of cloud formed below its feet to not disturb even a single blade of grass. It stopped in front of her. She knew she should kneel, do something to show respect, but instead glanced around herself, mouth dry. Surely someone else was behind her and she was just standing stupidly in the way.

But the two of them were alone.

Tripitaka’s mouth opened, and a small sound croaked out. She swallowed hard. “If… If you wait here, I can go get Monkey…” No, you can’t ask a qilin to wait. “Or I can walk with you back…” That sounded worse. A qilin wasn’t a horse you escorted back to the stable. The qilin surely couldn’t be here for just her, right? She glanced around rapidly, hoping beyond hope Monkey happened to be walking around and she could call him over.

Her heart skipped a beat when something in the trees caught her eye and she was about to call out when she stopped. It wasn’t Monkey, or Pigsy, or Sandy. It was a demon.

“No no no, please run! Go!” she yelled, lunging at the qilin and waving her arms. The qilin took a small step backwards, but otherwise didn’t move, looking puzzled. Tripitaka chanced a look up and saw the demon leveling a bow at the celestial messenger. She let out a scream and threw herself in front of the qilin.

Something stung her neck, her hand automatically flying up to touch it, coming away dripping with a disturbing amount of blood. The qilin let out an earth shattering scream, rearing up on its back legs and leaping in front of her. Tripitaka was terrified the arrow had struck the beast. Something warm was running down her neck, her ears ringing, as her legs crumpled beneath her. The qilin let out another, haunting cry that sounded like a deafening chorus of bells and lion roars as the flames along its back erupted, unleashing a billow of smoke and fire that scorched the sky. Tripitaka fell back, shuffling blindly until her back colliding with a trunk of a tree, cold hand clapped over the stinging in her neck, slipping on the blood running out of it.

The qilin turned its fury to its attacker and from its mouth unleashed a wave of heat burning hotter than Tripitaka could even see before erupting into blurring flames of red, blue, orange, and white. Tripitaka’s head fell back and she saw the arrow buried into the bark of the tree. It had probably just nicked her, she realized slowly, the world spinning. The qilin was suddenly in front of her, the center of a graying tunnel in her field of vision, bending its face to be level with hers, shifting in and out of clarity.

“’m sorry I scared you,” Tripitaka mumbled, her own voice sounding loud as her legs lost all sensation, the feeling spreading up her body. “But I’m… glad you’re okay.” The qilin’s flames licking the sides of its face and down its back were soft and soothing, chasing away the chill that was spreading along with the now comfortable numbness. It reached forward and Tripitaka shrank back, her only thought was that it was imperative to not get the beautiful creature dirty with her blood or sweat, but it gently pursued her and touched its snout to her forehead.

Tripitaka gasped as a sharp, white hot pain seared her neck, her entire body growing unbearably hot before it softened into a warm feeling of being wrapped in a blanket next to the glowing embers of a smoldering campfire surrounded by her friends. The world refocused and the qilin stepped back as Tripitaka caught her breath, staring up at it in awe. With her other hand she reached up and gingerly touched her neck, startled as the skin itself felt perfectly smooth and normal, if a little warmer than usual and sticky from the smeared drying blood.

She glanced around, realizing the awful amounts of blood that had splattered the grass all around her and staining her robes before looking back to the qilin, the full impact of what had just happened and what was now happening in front of her sinking in.

“Thank you,” she stammered, hand probing for an injury that suddenly wasn’t there. “Without you, I’d probably be…” She couldn’t bear to say it. The qilin blinked slowly at her, its gaze capturing her own.

“Now is not the time for our hope to die.” Tripitaka froze. “There is much for you to do yet, Tripitaka.” The qilin’s voice was soft and resolute, dancing in her ears like the flames wreathing its mane. “You must remain on the righteous path you have chosen for yourself, for your journey is not yet complete.”

Tripitaka was dumbstruck. She kept blinking, trying to process that the qilin had been there for her all along, even going so far as to heal her body and reassuring her heart.

“Thank you,” she finally managed to whisper. She hoped her faint repeat of earlier conveyed her gratitude for everything the celestial messenger had done for her. The qilin’s eyes smiled and it offered a brief nod before walking away, message delivered, plumes of smoke and mist gathering to obscure it from sight.

“Tripitaka!” Monkey’s call barely registered as she stared at the last wisps of vapor fading away. His boots thudded as he jumped down from presumably the cloud. “Tripitaka?!” He skidded on the ground, falling by her side. “Are you hurt? Whose blood is this?” he demanded, as he turned her head with one hand and with the other running along her neck, getting more and more agitated.

“It’s um…” She finally turned her attention fully to him and his wild eyes. She glanced around at the carnage around her and shivered. “I guess… it was mine? But I’m fine now.”

He staggered back, taking in her bloodied robes, drying blood on her skin, the splatters of blood on the ground, the arrow in the tree, eyes filled to the brim with horror and questions. He tried to say something but settled for moving back by her side and touching her neck again, his eyes darting frantically between it and her face.

“It was the qilin. It came back, it saved me,” Tripitaka breathed as Monkey grabbed her face and tilted her head to press his forehead to hers, eyes squeezed tightly shut. “It had a message after all…”

“You’re safe. That’s all I really care about,” Monkey murmured, releasing her only to wrap her into a warm hug that she leaned into, hoping it would crush away the tremors that wouldn’t stop.

Sandy and Pigsy called out, their footfalls crashing through the forest. Tripitaka quickly stood up as they burst through the trees, weapons at the ready, the memory of the qilin silently walking away contrasting almost laughably with the noise. Monkey searched her face, gripping her arm as if he were afraid she’d fall or float away.

The gods drank in the scene as Monkey had. “What happened? Are you alright?” Pigsy asked quickly. Sandy didn’t say anything, just staring at Tripitaka. Monkey wiped his nose on his sleeve and sniffed, glancing at Tripitaka expectantly, a hand cupping the back of her neck as his thumb swiped over where the arrow had struck. Tripitaka wondered if there was a visible mark.

“I…” At this point she really just wanted to go back to camp and pretend nothing had happened, especially since her thoughts were getting scattered. Maybe she’d go to sleep for a while. Hopefully Sandy would be able to draw all the blood out of her robes. She’d have to take another bath, she realized. That demon huntsman had wasted so much of her time. “I saw the qilin again?”

\---

“I’m telling you, I’m fine,” Tripitaka insisted to the three gods clustered around her after she’d recapped what she could remember. It was like they all expected her to keel over any second. “Can we just go? Please?”

“It’d be faster on the cloud,” Monkey muttered. He’d refused to let go of her the entire time she recounted her halting story as best she could. “But you should really lie down or something.” Sandy nodded in agreement, her eyes still wide but silently absorbing everything, reaching out to ghost her fingertips over Tripitaka’s neck before swiftly pulling them back without actually touching her.

Pigsy quirked his mouth, peering at her. “Whatever magic the qilin worked on you, it’s keeping you alive and vertical,” he said, keeping his tone light although his expression stayed serious. “But I don’t think you’re all the way better.”

Monkey shot her a challenging look. _See?_ “If you don’t want the cloud to carry you-”

“I don’t.” The thought of the cloud careening up and down and going dizzyingly fast… “No one’s carrying me. Can we please go? We’re not that far.” Tripitaka really didn’t like being the center of attention, especially after a close call like this. Monkey especially got clingy, which could be nice or annoying, depending on his mood.

His head tipped forward into the tiniest of shakes, narrowed eyes locking onto hers. Annoying it was, then.

“In the arms, over the shoulder, or on my back: pick one; you’re not walking.”

“On my feet,” she snapped. “That’s my choice.” She shrugged him off and took a single step before her wobbling knees buckled beneath her. Monkey was there in an instant to scoop her up and start walking as if nothing at all had happened. Tripitaka could hear Pigsy chuckling as he and Sandy followed. She squirmed.

“Nope, you had your chance to pick,” Monkey chided. “Shame, really. I’ve been told I give great piggyback rides.”

“Well if you put me down…” Tripitaka muttered, although her energy to squirm out of his grip was draining away.

“Honestly, you’re so wiggly, knock it off,” Monkey scolded with a playful grin. “Besides I’d rather keep you where I can see you. You’re a wily one.” Tripitaka didn’t have the energy to reply. Not even to smile at his attempt to lighten her heart. Instead she focused on the ground ahead, trying not to think about much at all except his next footsteps. She wanted to rest her head back against his arms, but thought of the blood still drying on her neck and getting it all over him made her flinch and she feebly made a half hearted attempt to squirm away again. He just pulled her tighter, glancing down and speaking quietly, all traces of playfulness gone.

“You’re okay. I’m here, we’re all here, just relax.”

“No, Monkey…”

“Tripitaka, what’s wrong?” Sandy asked. Tripitaka couldn’t answer and balled her stained hands into fists and tucked them away before she had to look at them again.  
Monkey seemed to understand. “We’ll fix that in a minute, okay?” Tripitaka wanted to reply, but their campsite was in view and she desperately wanted to walk the rest of the way. She managed to silently convince Monkey to put her down after repeatedly prodding his shoulder. He hesitantly complied and she started her shaky steps back, but he kept a light yet steady hand on the small of her back the entire time.

When she reached the fire, relieved her knees hadn’t crumpled again, she sat as close to it as she could, the flames drawing her in and providing a welcome distraction from the gods muttering to themselves behind her. The only thing she could really remember at the moment was the qilin’s flames dancing around in its mane as it reached forward to touch her. It was as if the qilin was the only crystal clear part of that event in her mind anymore, stubbornly refusing to go hazy like the rest of those memories. In a way she was glad; the qilin was a nice thing to focus on.

She realized Sandy was perched by her, holding a spare set of clothes. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“Would you like me to see if I can do anything about your robes?”

Tripitaka nodded quickly, shrugging off her outer blue robe that was still crusting with her blood, Sandy accepting it in silence, which Tripitaka appreciated, as she switched into the clean set. “Thanks.”

“I’ll be back soon, Tripitaka,” Sandy promised and headed off into the shadows towards the water.

Pigsy had settled himself down near her by the fire, close enough to offer a reassuring presence, but far enough away to give her space, starting his latest concoction. She could tell he was watching her out of the corner of his eye, but as usual he seemed to know what she wanted and let her be. At the moment what Tripitaka really wanted to rise from her half sitting, half lying down position and follow Sandy to the lake to clean herself up for the second time that day, but the fire seemed to be the only thing that could chase away the tremors that were still making her limbs shake. The crust of blood on her neck was cracking in the heat. The same heat that was the only thing keeping her from shaking out of her skin. The blood was still there. It wasn’t supposed to be there. Everything ached, her breaths short, heart hammering in her chest.

She needed to escape. Get away from the heat. But then the cold would overtake her… It seemed worth it.

She clumsily lurched to her feet. Pigsy glanced at her. “Where are you going?”

“Need to wash off,” she mumbled, trying to get away before he asked any more questions.

Pigsy’s voice was calm. “It’s not a good idea to jump into a cold lake right now, Tripitaka.” He had remained seated, but was watching her over his cooking pot carefully.

“Honestly, little monk. Pigsy’s not that awful to hang out with,” Monkey sighed as he slung one arm around her shoulders and guided her back to the fire, tossing down an armload of driftwood next to Pigsy, who let out a disgruntled but good-humored sound. “And he’s right, you probably should stay put for a while before you take yourself on another little walk.”

Tripitaka’s hand was halfway up to her neck before she stopped it, but she was unable to stop herself from looking towards the lake. Monkey’s eyes softened and he rustled around in Pigsy’s pack and produced a rag and a canteen before settling down beside her. Tripitaka reached for the rag and he ignored her.

“Monkey…”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’re fine, I know, I got it,” he said dismissively as he started to dab the damp cloth at her neck. “Humor me, okay?”

She let him clean her up, starting to calm down as she focused on the flames and Monkey’s warmth and counted each breath she took.

“Did… you want to hear what the qilin’s message was?” she asked quietly.

“Nah. It wasn’t intended for me to hear,” Monkey replied, taking her hand and gently scrubbing at it. He met her eyes. “I meant what I said earlier. I’m just glad it saved you.”

“Not a king,” Tripitaka whispered, feeling the corners of her eyes start to burn and her body start to tremble again. She tried to picture the qilin and recreate the serenity its presence had brought to her, but failed, saddening her. She swallowed a lump in her throat. “I’m not a sage. Not even a monk. Why did it think I was so important that it would come to me?”

Monkey, a sad look in his eyes, set aside the canteen and rag and pulled her close. “Always something with you in that head of yours, isn’t there?” He didn’t sound accusatory or weary, to her relief.

“I…” she thought to the qilin’s words and to his. “I know this quest is what I’m supposed to be doing. I don’t want to mess it up. I know you’re all here because you want to be here.”

“Of course,” he murmured. “But?”

“But why would a qilin come to me?” How could she explain it to him? Didn’t the qilin know how she’d lied to everyone and that she was nothing but herself? “Just me?”

“Just you?” he echoed, looking pained. He thought about what he wanted to say. “I believe the categories were great kings and wise sages. Not that it’s perfectly true, mind you. You may not be a king or a sage in title but…” He glanced up, a quirky smile brightening his features before his eyes went back to her. “You’re wise. And pretty great, if I do say so myself. You’re way more deserving of a visit from a divine beast than I ever will be.”

“Yeah, because you’re an ass,” Pigsy muttered under his breath from across the fire.

Monkey threw him a withering look as Tripitaka couldn’t help but chuckle, the mirth chasing away her doubts. “Do you mind? We’re having a moment.”

“Oh, do excuse me,” Pigsy said with a roll of his eyes. “Please, I beseech you, carry on. Feel your feelings and all that.”

As soon as Pigsy became reabsorbed with his task, Monkey nudged her head with his own. “I’m sure you’re tired of being asked, but are you alright? Really?”

“I think I will be, with some time,” Tripitaka replied, hesitant.

“Well that’s not a problem. We’ll stay here until you’re back to normal,” Monkey replied cheerfully. He glanced at her. “But…?”

Tripitaka felt her cheeks flush. “If it’s not too much trouble…” He tilted his head at her. “Would you mind staying like this?” His eyes lit up, and he hugged her closer, tilting her head so it rested on him more fully.

“Just so we’re absolutely clear,” Monkey said for only her to hear, “This isn’t any trouble at all.”

**Author's Note:**

> Once again a fic featuring a mythical being jumped the queue and demanded to be written. I do think Tripitaka has shades of Imposter Syndrome in canon, but I kinda whacked it up a bit just to Project (TM) a little... I'll try to keep my personal issues out of my writing in the future. Thank you for indulging me.
> 
> Anyway, thanks to hangryeowyn for the patient edits, and thanks for reading!


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